Lots of time, Few Ideas

[Alpha Omega]

When I first started out on this forum, I wanted to learn how to make video games. First I learned C++ after not knowing any programming language. Then I practiced coding with the irrlicht API, then coding a physics engine implementation on irrlicht, then learned modeling, texturing, animation in Blender. Since I started working my new job, I have learned AJAX, C#, HTML/CSS, Java, and started to learn ASM. If it wasn't for this forum I would never have learned C++ and I wouldn't have a job. Thanks guys!

Work is pretty slow, I like keeping busy but the management is terrible and they do not keep me busy, nor do they care to understand what my job position is and how long things take. I have everything automated so I work maybe 10 minutes a day .

Are there any good projects floating around that would like some help? Or technologies that may be just starting out? I wanted to implement a Hadoop cluster at work but we don't have the hardware to make it run anywhere as fast as it is meant for (1000's of cpu's).

Should I learn straight OpenGL? I just feel like I am reinventing the wheel since Irrlicht is awesome.

[teto]

That may sound silly but why don't you have a look at the irrlicht bugtracker and see if can send one or more patches ?

[serengeor]

Should I learn straight OpenGL? I just feel like I am reinventing the wheel since Irrlicht is awesome.

I just started learning opengl myself. You're not reinventing the wheel if you don't make it the same as irrlicht
What I'm trying in my opengl renderer is to make everything easily changeable/switchable as possible. For example the window implementation, renderer doesn't care about how it is implemented and only needs an interface of it. Irrlicht seams to lack this from my point of view as window implementations are hardcoded into the device.

Also helping to develop irrlicht could be nice

And probably if not irrlicht I wouldn't know so much things too